Aqueous emulsion/dispersions from biodegradable polymers/bioplastics

Purpose and goal

The project aim was to develop water-based biodegradable polymer / bioplastic dispersions. The project goal was to find a stable dispersion which could serve as a binder or part of a composite material for bio-based fibres. Several dispersions were developed and evaluated. Promising results showed that the properties of the biodegradable polymers / bioplastics can be transmitted both to non-woven (coating / padding) and paper (wet-end addition) materials. This project resulted in two patent applications.

Expected results and effects

Dispersions were developed and tested on non-woven and paper with promising results. Upscaling was more difficult than anticipated and efforts are made to find a third-party supplier that can grinde biopolymer particles. The goal is to scale up the process and test the developed formulations on customers large-scale machines. These products will broaden our product range considerably and enable entry into new markets, increase sales and enable new recruitments. We see great opportunities to replace products of synthetic plastic with the new formulations and our fiber molding tech.

Planned approach and implementation

Several bioplastics/biodegradable polymers and raw material suppliers were identified during the project. Since the production of dispersions appeared more difficult than initially planned, the project was a bit delayed and the project plan had to be adapted during the project. Despite this, we managed to develope bio-based dispersions which were tested and evaluated with very promising results. The project did not achieve upscaling to full-scale but the possibility was discussed and explored. This work will be continued by OrganoClick during 2017.